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JulyDiaz

Episode 65 — The Cavern Explosion

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What a great fucking episode. From DMing to character role play to choices to very little actually happening yet SO FUCKING MUCH happening. God damn this was so great.

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Sigh

 

They were so close to the catching the dang old man.....this series has really taken a downturn since missing him and crash landing on this sh*T hole of a planet!

 

As episodes go, whats the point of spending so much time figuring out damage when its so overwhelming? Ehhh...I like listening to D&D but when its like 'ok how much damage is this again??...roll dice..half that..double this. take one point off..." yawnn

 

And is it a meme for Jerry to be the only player to keep having his characters bite it?

 

Ideally Jerry comes back to play a newly evolved Stargoyle that absorbed so much energy from the blast that he can now function more like a PC. But doesn't let on and still purrrs and makes cute noises because it would be fun for Jerry to have to do that.

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I feel like Sir Richard, great character that he was, has had a good run, and died in typical Gerry fashion.

 

Damien on the other hand, has yet to be fully realized. It was too soon, and I'm really pulling for an unholy resurrection.

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If only Blackie had a Lvl 7 spell scroll of Orb of Invunerability...

 

Also, the damage numbers are always appreciated, Sark. They heighten the tension and illustrate how close the group is to perishing.

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Am I the only one who felt that this TPK was railed by Sark? The group didn't really have any option but to go into the powder mine, and then way off in the distance the catastrophe starts with them having essentially zero avenue for escape. Maybe it's just me, but I can totally understand why Brian is pissed.

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Am I the only one who felt that this TPK was railed by Sark? The group didn't really have any option but to go into the powder mine, and then way off in the distance the catastrophe starts with them having essentially zero avenue for escape. Maybe it's just me, but I can totally understand why Brian is pissed.

 

Dunno, seems like the goal was to bloody them to add tension to upcoming encounters (particularly given the ease with which the party has been popping ratmen the past few weeks), note that (1) a ton of the damage was from the wall going, which was a 3-in-10 chance, and (2) Sark himself seemed caught off guard by the fact that they hadn't meaningfully healed after the previous hit. If he'd tried much harder to dial it back at that point, that would have felt a lot more railroaded.

 

Anyways, he's heavily signalled that he's going to soften the blow for at least some of the party.

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This episode was so great, and so crazy! I can't wait for next week. I also feel like if only Sir Richard hadn't have rolled a 1 on that last gauntlet blast things might have also been different! But either way he went out like a badass. Boss.

 

I did think it would've been really interesting if everyone died completely and we could hear all about what crazy stuff Sark had planned that they never got around to, took a different path on and other interesting things we don't know about the campaign in general, I'd love to know more of that behind the scenes of a DM stuff as I'm a super novice to D&D. I'm sure one of these days they'll have to start a whole new campaign/adventure. But I kind of knew he probably wasn't going to let everyone completely die.

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I was screaming USE THE FUCKING SCROLL OF INVULNERABILITY ORB when Sark was like "you have one action." And no doubt Sark knew it too! Look at the damn character sheets every once in a while guys (and gal)!

 

In any case, I do hope Damien sticks around and I'm glad he was praying if it gives him a way out.

 

For those who are saying this plot has been railroaded, consider that while Blackie Green may have an 18 charisma his wisdom is clearly in the single digits. He watches the rats, who clearly know this area better than anyone and who pose no real threat in close quarters (unless they are the suicide bomber rats) escape through one set of tunnels, and then opts to go another direction? He then forgets the fucking scroll of Invulnerability Orb, and then proceeds to hide behind a shield while at the same time asking his familiar to take what will be likely unsurvivable and certainly unnecessary damage?

 

If Stargoyle is dead, Sark please remember to look up the rules on death of a familiar. Make Blackie try to make his fort save and let him feel the burn in XP. He's the arcane spellcaster and is supposed to be the party swiss army knife: always prepared for these types of situations. Here he was given the tools he needed to succeed and he absolutely blew it resulting in the deaths of at least one of his companions and possibly his familiar!

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Decent episode, lots of amazing action. Please don't jump the shark! I like this podcast! Keep the story compelling, interesting, and flavorful.

 

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Got someone new to finally listen to the show tonight and this was their introduction. He will probably be sticking around. :)

 

I felt like they didn't have much of a chance once that first explosion went off, but it has definitely shaken things up (NPI).

 

Thinking back on the series, the transitions to new characters have been the best moments for sure. Awesome fun and hoping that we do see a few new characters even though I will miss Sir Richard for sure. Here's to Damien coming back in ass-less chaps of pure light.

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Not much to add. Everyone else has said what needed to be. Execpt maybe Sir Richard could have given Amon Amarth's armour to Damien (I know time constraints), and what about the Water Crown? Could it have been used to fire a batch of ice spears to cushion the heat like Mildred used the water for? Again, I know time constraints...And maynot be able to use it as such. As for the orb of invunerability, I think Sark could have made a better hint. Shitty DM. I really hope the survivors gain a shit ton of level ups on this.

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I created a forum account just so I could post about this episode. This was seriously some of the most epic real-time improv story telling I've ever heard, and I'm a fan of the oral tradition. Sir Richard's last stand and his ascent were heroic and poetic, in turns. Major kudos to all the players, was really a fantastic listen. In a sense it's like any week, I can't wait for the next episode of nerd poker. And yet, the breath is even more bated this week, to an almost excruciating degree. I'm just so excited to see where the story goes from here!

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I was screaming USE THE FUCKING SCROLL OF INVULNERABILITY ORB when Sark was like "you have one action." And no doubt Sark knew it too! Look at the damn character sheets every once in a while guys (and gal)!

 

In any case, I do hope Damien sticks around and I'm glad he was praying if it gives him a way out.

 

For those who are saying this plot has been railroaded, consider that while Blackie Green may have an 18 charisma his wisdom is clearly in the single digits. He watches the rats, who clearly know this area better than anyone and who pose no real threat in close quarters (unless they are the suicide bomber rats) escape through one set of tunnels, and then opts to go another direction? He then forgets the fucking scroll of Invulnerability Orb, and then proceeds to hide behind a shield while at the same time asking his familiar to take what will be likely unsurvivable and certainly unnecessary damage?

 

If Stargoyle is dead, Sark please remember to look up the rules on death of a familiar. Make Blackie try to make his fort save and let him feel the burn in XP. He's the arcane spellcaster and is supposed to be the party swiss army knife: always prepared for these types of situations. Here he was given the tools he needed to succeed and he absolutely blew it resulting in the deaths of at least one of his companions and possibly his familiar!

 

I can see why characters in Sarks games die all the time.

 

They level up once a year and they frequently forget what items/equipment they had.

 

Underpowered characters plus sloppy play=death

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I was screaming USE THE FUCKING SCROLL OF INVULNERABILITY ORB when Sark was like "you have one action." And no doubt Sark knew it too! Look at the damn character sheets every once in a while guys (and gal)!

 

And manage your hit points better. If those characters had healed up most wouldn't have gone under 0.

 

That should have been a TPK, I don't know what Sark's going to do to "fix" that...

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A lot of good points have been made here, leading me to think that a whole lot of fuck-ups definitely occurred on all sides of the table. I feel like that's how these types of acopalyptic disasters occur: people aren't playing at the top of their game, and a string of damaging mistakes are made.

 

But then again, in a campaign that has already run this long on such an erratic schedule, keeping up with the constant flow of items and stat upkeep seems like somethign akin to a full-time job. Also, with this being a room full of comedians, everyone tends to feel the need to be "on" at all times, which might make it easy to value the conversation over the most careful of play.

 

Honestly, I figured they were all fucked from the moment they crash-landed on this planet. The chances of finding another working spacecraft in what is basically a man rat-infested zombie wasteland seemed somewhat remote. Still, I really hope we get to hear a character give that old man what-for by the end of the campaign.

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Wow was really hoping for a TPK(W) on this but looks like "shitty dm" wussed out.

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I welled up a little during the last 5 minutes of that.

 

Fantastic stuff from Gerry and Sark.

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Wow, that was brutal, Sark. Are you going to punch Sarah's baby in the next episode too?

 

Don't forget Gerry! . . . again.

 

No matter how Sark gets the rest of the party out of this, they lost the main point of being on this planet in the first place. . . unless Gerry's next character is Glinishmoore-ian (sp?) too.

 

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I was screaming USE THE FUCKING SCROLL OF INVULNERABILITY ORB when Sark was like "you have one action." And no doubt Sark knew it too! Look at the damn character sheets every once in a while guys (and gal)!

 

In any case, I do hope Damien sticks around and I'm glad he was praying if it gives him a way out.

 

For those who are saying this plot has been railroaded, consider that while Blackie Green may have an 18 charisma his wisdom is clearly in the single digits. He watches the rats, who clearly know this area better than anyone and who pose no real threat in close quarters (unless they are the suicide bomber rats) escape through one set of tunnels, and then opts to go another direction? He then forgets the fucking scroll of Invulnerability Orb, and then proceeds to hide behind a shield while at the same time asking his familiar to take what will be likely unsurvivable and certainly unnecessary damage?

 

If Stargoyle is dead, Sark please remember to look up the rules on death of a familiar. Make Blackie try to make his fort save and let him feel the burn in XP. He's the arcane spellcaster and is supposed to be the party swiss army knife: always prepared for these types of situations. Here he was given the tools he needed to succeed and he absolutely blew it resulting in the deaths of at least one of his companions and possibly his familiar!

 

 

I have to say I heartily agree with a lot of this. I LOVE these guys, but they are

 

Not. Playing. Smart. Enough.

 

Gotta step it up. Remember to heal, level, and know what kinds of items you're carrying!

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